While watching a recent CBS's "NCIS: Los Angeles" (don't judge - ladies do love cool James), I witnessed what has to be one of the most egregious offenses on television crime dramas and it's posing a serious threat to my TV viewing (and by extension to anyone watching TV with me).

In an early scene from the aforementioned episode, Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) and her partner Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) are heading down the garden path of a Beverly Hills mansion when they pass a gardener. He gives the agents a passing glance, but that look, that stealthy stare tells me instantly that the gardener is not just pruning the roses, he's the bad guy, the guilty party and the reason for the episode's murder and mayhem. | Feb. 1, 2013»Read Full Article(1)

Josh Hanagarne has somehow managed to fit a small collection of books into his memoir, "The World's Strongest Librarian."

There's the story of a boy who fell in love with books early and never let go. The drama of a youth with an extreme case of Tourette syndrome who fights back through powerlifting and other feats of strength. The tale of a "mildly religious," questioning man figuring out what it means to live in a Mormon community. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Article

Early in "Americanah," Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel in seven years, a newly arrived Nigerian college student and her Nigerian aunt are chatting in the aunt's Brooklyn apartment.

Explaining why she'll straighten her hair for upcoming interviews, Aunty Uju gets right to the point: "You are in a country that is not your own. You do what you have to do if you want to succeed." | May 17, 2013»Read Full Article

My parents are snowbirds (when the snow flies, so do they) so they often read this column after it has run. They've recently returned to their Brookfield nest, and my mom wasted no time influencing this month's recommendations. After finishing Susan Elia MacNeal's "His Majesty's Hope" (Bantam, $15), the third in an engrossing WWII series, my mom said, "You need to recommend this and the author needs to write faster."

Maggie Hope, the series hero, has dreamed of becoming a spy ever since she was a "typist to Prime Minister Winston Churchill" and then a "maths tutor to the Princess Elizabeth" at Windsor. As the Nazis tighten their grip across Europe, Maggie gets her chance. Thanks to her secret training (including lessons from a "Glaswegian safecracker"), her keen intelligence with codes, and her "big stones" (as the Brits say), Maggie is recruited to an elite group of spies to infiltrate the offices of the Nazi hierarchy. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Article

Children, nieces, nephews and younger siblings of U.S. service members who died in any manner are invited to Camp Hometown Heroes, a overnight camp June 22 through 28 at YMCA Camp Malawa in Campbellsport.

The camp, founded by Kapco Metal Stamping and its nonprofit partner the volunteer organization Hometown Heroes, is for children ages 7 to 16 and will offer traditional camp activities but will include guidance from pediatric grief specialists. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Article

Valentin is a Marxist revolutionary who doesn't fully grasp that the personal is also political - and that true liberation must extend past the boardroom and into the bedroom.

Molina is an aging queen who doesn't fully grasp that the political is also personal - and that preserving sexual and artistic freedom requires active struggle against authoritarian regimes. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Article

The Milwaukee Ballet's two-act take on "Swan Lake" is a seriously gorgeous evening of dance.

Thursday's opening performance was built of deeply expressive dancing from the company's leading artists and beautifully disciplined corps work, set amid richly detailed sets and character-defining costumes. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Article

Edward Lee might be best known nationally for his turn on Bravo's "Top Chef," but he has gained renown since then for his restaurant, 610 Magnolia, in Louisville (he was a James Beard Award finalist this year). A new cookbook, "Smoke & Pickles," is putting him in the spotlight again, and he'll be at Bacchus on May 21 for a four-course dinner of dishes from the book. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Humor and baseball will take center stage, along with thousands of college graduates, this weekend in Milwaukee. And you can follow it all through the Journal Sentinel's coverage, including a social media Storify that's already rolling to capture the good-byes, the celebrations and the nostalgic traditions.

Bill Cosby will be Marquette University's commencement speaker Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. As part of the ceremony, Cosby will receive an honorary doctor of letters degree. Marquette University will livestream the ceremony, including Cosby's speech, at its website. The Journal Sentinel will pick up that feed and livestream it at jsonline.com Sunday at 9:30 a.m. | May 17, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

James Young (furthest left), guitarist for Texas-based country act Eli Young Band, is using Muse's "The 2nd Law" as his new "workout record." Eli Young Band, along with Kacey Musgraves and Eric Church, will open for Kenny Chesney at Miller Park Saturday. Photo provided.| May 17, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

It's a rare sound indeed: a country music concert at Miller Park. The stadium hasn't played host to any full-scale concert since 2010, but now country stages a comeback when Kenny Chesney's "No Shoes Nation" tour stops there Saturday.